Container for carbon dioxide blocks



Dec. 1, 1 936. J. w. LUCAS v 2,062,589

CONTAINER FOR CARBON DIOXIDE BLOCKS Filed Sept. 16, 1935 fly- 2 Z0 20 fi2 5 I 6 17 12 a? 1 5 3 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY-S Patented. Dec. 1, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTAINERFOR CARBON DIOXIDE BLOCKS 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a container or holder for retaining a gasunder high pressure, and the invention is particularly applicable in theconstruction of holders for blocks of solidified gas such as carbondioxide popularly known as dry ice.

It is the usual practice to construct holders for this purpose in theform of a closed shell with a head having a small charging opening forintroducing the dry ice; the opening is usually closed by a coverseating on the inside against a gasket to prevent leakage. Hence thesecharging openings must be much smaller than the head and consequently itis usually necessary to break up the blocks of dry ice in order to passthe pieces down through the opening. As the internal pressure is veryhigh, frequently reaching 1000 lbs. per square inch, there is a strongtendency for any cover to leak that is not held on its seat from theinside.

The general object of this invention is to provide a holder of this typethat will present a charging opening of maximum diameter; that will bereadily accessible and which has a closure which can be relied upon toprevent leakage even under the prevailing high internal pressures.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a thread connection isemployed for securing the closure or cover in place, and one of theobjects of the invention is to construct this connection in such a waythat there will be no tendency for the force acting outwardly on thecover,,to bulge the shell outwardly at this point.

Further objects of the invention will appear 5 hereinafter.

P The invention consists inthe novel parts an combination of parts to bedescribed hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an efficientcontainer for carbon dioxide blocks.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the followingspecification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through a holder embodying the invention.I

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view, and is a vertical section on a largerscale taken through the wall of the holder at the junction between thebody 50 and the closure, and illustrating details of the preferredconstruction.

, Fig. 3 is a cross-section broken away, through a gasket that I preferto. employ for insuring a gastight joint at the threads.

As illustrated in the drawing, the holder] come prises a body 2 and aclosure 3, the body being preferably in the form of a thick cylindricalsteel shell, and if desired, the lower end of the shell has a permanenthead 4 that may be connected by a welded joint 5.

The closure 3 is removably secured to the body I by any suitable means,but preferably by means of a thread connection 6, including internalthreads 1 formed Within the mouth of the shell.

In order to insure a gas-tight connection, I construct the holder with'a relatively'large packing groove 8 that is formed at the junctionbetween the closure and the body, and this groove is undercut, that isto say on its inner side, toward the shells axis, it presents a narrowslot 9 formed between lips l0 and II that project toward each otherpreferably located, and tapered, as shown. This packing groove 8 forms avery considerable annular cavity that substantially weakens the wall ofthe body. This is necessary, 4

however, in order to enable a satisfactory packing ring or gasket l2 tobe employed. The weakening of the wall is compensated for as will bedescribed hereinafter. j

The packing ring is of substantially channel form in cross-section, andpreferably has the shape illustrated in Fig. 3, presenting tapered lipsl3 so that when in place in the packing groove the lips l3 pressthemselves outwardly against the inner inclined faces M of the lips I0and H, terminating at the slot 9, and so that the gas pressure exertsitself in the pressure groove 15 of the packingring to force the packinglips outwardly, also exerting a powerful force urging the packing ringto expand and forcibly fill the packing-groove at all points. a i

In order to render it practicable to employ this relatively largepacking groove 8 and packing ring I2, I provide a girth l6 consisting ofa ring that encircles the shell opposite the groove. This girth may beshrunk on but is preferably an easy press-fit and secured by welds I!set in channels between the skin of the shell and beveled faces l8 onthe band.

If an ordinary V-thread were employed for connecting the cover, it isevident that the force due to the gas pressure would tend to push thecover 3 outward, and by reason of the inclined faces of the thread, ahorizontal component force would be developed pressing radiallyoutwardly at the thread and tending to expand the mouth of the body. Qfcourse, the girth tends to prevent this, but I also prefer to meet thisdifficulty by employing a special thread preferably of substantially theform shown, in which the with two handles to facilitate attaching and:

inner face I 9 of the thread I of the body, is in a plane substantiallyperpendicular to the longiremoving it.

The cover should be provided with a tapped hole 22 for attaching apet-cock that can be opened to indicate whether the internal pressure islow enough to permit the cover to be removed with safety. Other openings23 and 24 are pro.- vided for other connections.

For convenience a supporting foot 2| canbe welded on to the lower head,to support theholder inan upright position on the floor.

It will be evident that the holder described above presents a chargingmouth of maximum diameter equal to the inside diameter of the body,

enabling it to be charged with a large cube of the solidified gas, suchas dry ice; and'the construction is such that the holder will begastight; at the same time, it can withstand the high internal pressuresthat may be developed on its interior.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described hereinis only one of the many embodiments this invention may take, and I donot wish to be limited in the practice of the invention, nor in theclaims, to the particular embodiment set forth.

What I claim is:

l. A gas-tight holder having a body consisting of ashell', a removablecover with means for securing the same to the body, said body and saidcover having an undercut annular packing groove.

formed between the body and the cover adjacent the junction pointthereof, and a channel-form packing ring of compressible materialreceived in the said groove and having a substantially cy- I lindricalouter face seating against the back of the groove, said packing ringhaving a pressure groove on its innerface exposed to the gas pressurewithin the holder, said packing ring having projecting lips projectingtoward the interior of the holder and pressed against the wall ofthepacking groove by the gas pressure.

2. A gas-tight holder having a body consisting of a shell, a removablecover having a thread connection with the body, said body and said coverhaving an undercut annular packing groove formed between the body andthe cover adjacent the junction point thereof, and a packing ring ofcompressible material received in the said groove and having a pressuregroove on its inner face exposed to the gas pressure within the holder,said packing ring having projecting lips pressed against the wall of thepacking groove by the gas pressure, the threads in the body havinginclined faces on the side toward the body of the closure andsubstantially horizontal faces ,on their other sides as viewed insection on a of a she1l, a removable cover with means for scuring thesame to the body, said body and said cover having an undercut annularpacking groove formed between the body and the cover adjacent thejunction point thereof, and a packing ring of compressible materialreceived in the said groove and having a pressure groove on its innerface, facing the interior of the holder, and exposed to the gas pressurewithin the holder, said packing groove having inwardly projectingtapered lips, and said packing ring having inwardly projecting taperedlips overlying the tapered lips of the packing groove, and pressedagainst the same by the gas-pressure.

, JOHN ,W. LUCAS.

